1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to systems and methods for determining the level of a fluid in a drain pan and, in particular, to systems and methods for determining the level of a fluid in a drain pan using a load sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known fryers may include a fryer frame, a fryer vessel mounted on the fryer frame, a drain pan for receiving a fluid drained from a fryer vessel, and a processor for controlling the operation of the fryer. The fluid may be a cooking medium, such as vegetable oil or shortening. It is desirable to drain such cooking media from the fryer vessel periodically for replacement or filtering. Alternatively, the fluid may be a cleaning fluid, such as water or a detergent or a combination thereof, which may be used to clean the fryer vessel or other fryer components including a drain valve through which fluid is drained to the drain pan or the drain pan itself
Because periodic draining of fluids from the fryer vessel to the drain pan is a necessary step in the operation of the fryer, it is important to accurately determine the level of any fluid that may be added to or may already be in the drain pan. If fluid is already in the drain pan, further draining may cause the drain pan to overflow causing fluid to spill onto fryer components or onto the floor surrounding the fryer. Such spillage may result in damage to components of the fryer or even fire if the cooking media or cleaning fluids should come in contact with heater elements or electrical circuitry. Exposure of electrical circuitry to these fluids poses a particular danger of damage because the spillage may result in the short circuiting of electric components.
Such spillage may create other problems. For example, the spillage of cooking media or cleaning fluids may result in employees slipping on the spilled fluid. Moreover, such spillage is generally unsanitary and may present a medium for the growth of bacteria or fungus in the area surrounding the fryer.
A further consideration with respect to the efficient operation of a fryer is that by avoiding such spillage, the fryer may be operated in a more cost effective manner. By avoiding spillage, less employee time is spent cleaning up such spills, and fryer operating time is not lost due to the need to clean the fryer and its surroundings. Further, if a cooking medium is to be drained, filtered, and reused; the loss of some portion of the cooking medium represents a cost increase due to the replacement costs for such lost cooking medium.